96% of Hong Kongers with a BNO passport plan on staying in Britain.
South China Morning Post said:Most Hong Kong residents who successfully applied for a pathway to UK citizenship are university educated, married or in a relationship with children, and have no plans to return to the city, according to a British Home Office survey.
The survey interviewed a random sample of 500 British National (Overseas) visa holders living in the United Kingdom last year, and was released on Monday – exactly a year since the scheme was launched on January 31, 2021.
The Home Office said it had commissioned the research to “understand more about BN(O) visa holders”.
All survey participants were main applicants who had been granted their BN(O) visas and were currently living in Britain.
Some 88,900 Hongkongers have applied for the visa scheme since its introduction on January 31 last year, of whom 76,176 have been approved.
An estimated 5.4 million of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents are eligible for the scheme, which allows successful applicants and their dependents to live, work and study in the country for up to five years.
After staying in Britain for a sixth year, visa holders can apply for citizenship.
According to the survey, about 96 per cent of successful applicants staying in Britain said they planned to stay indefinitely.
Majority of Hongkongers with BN(O) visas in UK won’t come back, survey finds
About 96 per cent of successful applicants staying in Britain say they plan to stay indefinitely.
www.scmp.com